Let's Go For Three
by Mrs. Elizabeth Gibbs
Summary: Faced with having to clear baby things out of the attic, Elizabeth wonders if maybe going for three wouldn't be so bad. Pre-series Henry/Elizabeth.


Notes: This is my first foray into Madam Secretary fic, but something about finally marathoning season three and then subsequently starting a full rewatch spurred me to start writing Elizabeth/Henry fic. I've fallen for them even more so than I already had when I watched casually, and I'm incredibly interested on the small bits and pieces we've learned about their past. Just a small thing about how they came to decide to have Jason- "You're the one who wanted to go for three". I really hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Two. They'd always settled on two.

Once they'd started actively talking about children, they'd always landed on two. Elizabeth had been firm about more than one- with her own heartbreaking childhood, she'd been adamant that they have at least two so their kids had a sibling to lean on.

And they had two wonderful, beautiful children. Stevie and Alison were perfect, at seven and two and a half respectively. Elizabeth wouldn't change a single thing about their lives, not for a moment.

Except…maybe she did.

Henry had suggested they start to clear out some of the baby things from the attic- they would use some more free space for storage, and they didn't need it anymore. And she'd agreed; they could use more free space, and Henry's sister could use some of the baby things for her younger children.

But as she stood there, staring at the pieces of crib against one wall and the boxes of infant clothes, she found that part of her wanted to go through it all again- she wanted to use the things they'd packed away after each of Ali's milestones. She wanted the rollercoaster months of nausea and exhaustion and discomfort. As long as at the end of it, she got to hold another tiny person she and Henry made together.

She leaves the things as they are in the attic, heading back down the ladder and smiling as the sounds of Stevie and Alison giggling hit her ears.

Henry had gone to run errands- they'd needed him at the college for a brief department meeting, and had taken the grocery list with him for afterwards, so it was just her and her girls. Elizabeth leaned against the doorframe of Stevie's bedroom, watching her daughters playing with their dolls on the floor.

"Do you want the brush, Ali?" Stevie asks, offering the pink plastic brush to her sister; Alison's face lit up as she nodded, taking it and clumsily pulling it through the doll's brunette hair as she hummed softly under her breath.

Elizabeth shifted, and the old floor creaked- both girls turned at the noise, and two faces that looked so similar to hers beamed up at her.

"Mommy! Do you want to play with us?" Stevie asked, holding out the extra Barbie to her- Elizabeth nodded, settling beside Alison and pressing her lips to the top of her daughter's head.

It had been too long since she'd had the time to play with Stevie and Alison- the CIA missions she'd been overseeing seemed to be getting more and more involved, and late nights had become more frequent than she liked. More often than not, she found herself coming home to a quiet house- her daughters already asleep and Henry near dozing, trying to stay up for her.

Stevie began to weave a story about the three dolls in their hands, and Elizabeth listened with a contented smile on her face.

Her mind wandered to what would change, if they added a third child to the house- Stevie would be eight and Alison would be nearly three, if it was within the next year. They were both smart, precocious girls- Stevie had adjusted well to a new baby when they'd brought Ali home.

She could take some time from the CIA- maybe some time away from the agency would sooth some of the frayed nerves she'd been feeling in recent weeks. It would allow her more time with the girls- and more time with Henry. They'd been trying to find time for just the two of them, as a couple, for what felt like months- but there would be an emergency, or one of their girls would need something.

Elizabeth _missed_ him. Fleeting morning kisses and half-asleep conversations in bed at night weren't enough for her- she'd kill for the time for a shared shower or dinner together.

"Mommy. _Mommy_ ," she's jerked from her thoughts by Alison tugging on her sleeve, face creased. "Listen, Mommy."

"I'm sorry Noodle- I was distracted," Elizabeth tells her, running her hands over her daughter's dark hair, stroking her cheek. "Tell me again, I'm listening now."

Alison looks at Stevie imploringly, and the blonde little girl nods, pointing to the Barbie in Elizabeth's hand.

"You're the Mommy," Stevie tells her, and Elizabeth smiles, nodding. "Ali is the baby. I'm the Daddy since Daddy isn't here. I'm usually the Mommy."

She says it matter-of-factly, but it sits heavily in the pit of Elizabeth's stomach. She pushes it aside and plays with her daughters, laughing along with Stevie's wildly imaginative storylines and reveling in Alison's quiet giggles.

"Well this is a welcome sight to come home to," Elizabeth turns at Henry's voice, lips curving unconsciously into a smile at the sight of him in the doorway. The worn Marine Corp t-shirt stretched over his chest, and the old blue jeans hugged his thighs in a way that had heat simmering deep in her belly.

"Mommy played dolls with us!" Stevie exclaimed happily, and Henry's face creased into a grin as he came to settle on his knees between Stevie and Elizabeth, pressing his lips to the top of their daughter's head before he leaned over, kissing Elizabeth's mouth. "She even did voices. You _never_ do voices."

"Are you telling me your mother has surpassed me in playing Barbies?" Henry says in a mock offended voice, placing a hand over his heart. Alison gave a giggle, leaning into Stevie and nudging her shoulder with her head until her older sister wrapped her arm around her shoulders.

"She's good, Daddy," Alison says, beaming over at Elizabeth, who winked back.

"Well does the pizza I brought home for dinner make up for my lack of Barbie skills?" Henry asks, and both girls nod, lighting up. "Go wash up- Stevie, help your sister."

Stevie and Alison scrambled up and down the hall to the bathroom- the splash of water assured them they had a few moments alone, and Henry leaned down, capturing her mouth with his.

Elizabeth sinks into the kiss; one hand comes up to rake through his hair as her teeth scraped his lower lip, tongue soothing the marks moments later. Henry groans against her mouth, shifting until she could settle in his lap, hand squeezing her ass playfully and drawing a soft laugh from her.

"Ewwww," they look up at the chorus of two little girls' voices, breaking apart, though Elizabeth stayed in his lap.

"Mommy. Daddy. It's pizza time," Stevie said seriously, and both her parents laughed.

"Okay, babies. We're coming," Elizabeth said, smiling. "Go downstairs, Daddy and I will be right there."

Both girls nodded and headed downstairs; Elizabeth drops one more kiss on Henry's lips before she stands, offering him her hands- he took them and stood with a soft groan, wrapping his hand around hers as they made their way down the stairs, listening to Stevie and Alison chatter in the kitchen.

Dinner is followed by a movie- the girls' choice, some animated movie about a dog that Elizabeth struggles to follow, her mind wandering to her thoughts from earlier. Alison falls asleep in Henry's lap before it ends, and Stevie is drowsy against Elizabeth's side- she whines when they announce bedtime, but goes willingly when Elizabeth picks her up.

"You're almost too big for this, baby," Elizabeth murmurs into soft blonde ringlets as they ascend the stairs, Stevie's face in her neck and breath warm on her skin. She squirms a little, but her eyes are closed when Elizabeth settles her in her bed, tucking her under the covers and smoothing back her unruly hair. "Goodnight, Stevie."

Stevie merely mumbles, turning her face into the pillow and getting comfortable. Elizabeth smiles, flicking on the nightlight near the door on her way out, leaving the door open a crack.

She meets Henry in the hallway, touching his wrist briefly before they switched places- she dropped a kiss on a sleeping Alison's head, adjusting the covers over her, before she left the room, cracking the door once more. She can hear Henry in the bathroom, water running as he brushed his teeth, and she walked into their bedroom to change into pajamas.

The nightgown she unearths hasn't been worn in a while- she'd been favoring Henry's old shirts and sweats lately for bed, coming home so late, and she figures Henry will be awake enough to enjoy the blue silk she pulls on tonight.

"It seems like you had a good day," Henry says as he walks in, and his eyes widen at the nightgown she has on, lips curling upwards. "I haven't seen you in one of those for a while."

"Well, I'm home before you're asleep, so I figured a change from the t-shirts and sweatpants would be nice," she answers, smiling as he came over to the bed after tugging his shirt off, kissing her soundly.

"How'd cleaning the attic go?" he asks as he changes into boxers, climbing into bed beside her. Elizabeth looks at him for a moment, thinking, and Henry frowns. "What?"

"I had a thought," she starts, and interest crosses her husband's face. "What if we didn't give the baby things away?"

"Why would we do that?" Henry asks slowly, and Elizabeth leans forward, placing a hand on his chest.

"You know how you said we could always go from three? After Ali turned two?" she started, and Henry raises an eyebrow.

"I was joking," Henry started, and Elizabeth shook her head, hand lifting to cover his mouth with one finger.

"What if I'm not?" she asked, and Henry's eyes widened a little. "What if we did go for three?"

"Elizabeth- are you serious?" Henry asks, and Elizabeth nods.

"Looking at all those baby things- I miss it, Henry. I miss having a baby in the house," she tells him, hand sliding to cup his jaw. "And- maybe it is time to think about my work at the CIA, and taking a break for a little bit to spend time with the girls, and you- and another baby- would be the chance to…reevaluate."

Elizabeth bites her lip, looking up at Henry- his eyes are soft and warm, and she can't help but lean over and kiss him.

"I want another baby, Henry," she whispers against his mouth, grinning when he groans, turning them so her back was on the bed and Henry was hovering over her, kissing her neck.

"So we're doing this," he says when he pulls back- Elizabeth frames his face in her hands, nodding.

"Yeah. We're doing this," she replies softly, and Henry grins, shining face above her as he leans down to kiss her again, a little messily around the grins on both their faces. "Let's go for three, Dr. McCord."

Henry kisses her again as she laughs, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down to her as his fingers tugged at her nightgown.


End file.
